Beach Watch Survey: Cambois 27th November 2016

Our hardy volunteers braved the freezing cold and took their litter pickers down to Cambois Beach on Sunday for a much needed clean up.

The exceptionally high tides from the recent supermoon, coupled with some rather rough waves had brought a fair amount of debris onto the beach. Plus, we noticed that the dunes had been significantly eroded since our last visit. We could see what looked like old railway sleepers and litter from years gone by that had become trapped in the layers of soil and sand.

As we worked along the strand line, we found litter tangled up in big patches of broken branches, leaves and seaweed. What is worth noting is that the majority of litter looked old. It looked like it had been in the water for a while, rather than dropped by inconsiderate beach users.

Cambois beach goers don’t drop much litter… shame about the poo!

There were lots of visitors on the beach while we were litter picking - nearly all of them with dogs. Along with our very own beach clean up regular Meg – they were having a whale of a time. The cold didn’t bother them one bit, even when they were jumping through the waves!

Now, while the majority of dog walkers are extremely responsible, there is still a significant amount of dog poo on this beach (definitely not from Meg!) We picked up a number of poo bags from the beach and car park area, plus we noticed a fair bit of unbagged poo lying around too. It’s definitely one of our major pet hates (pun intended) and while the culture of picking up after your dog has vastly improved over the years, it’s a shame to see people so flagrantly go against the grain.

It wasn’t quite snowing…

Which was probably for the best as Nic and James would have been upset they couldn’t use the sledge the volunteers found! This is definitely a contender for the most random item found on our beach cleans. Just like the other litter, it was dirty and bashed up – we’re pretty sure this came from the sea so we can only speculate as to how far it travelled on the ocean waves!

As usual, we conducted a Marine Conservation Society Beach Watch Survey and reported the data. You can see the full results here. From the survey area we removed a total of 18.7kg with an extra 10kg removed from the rest of the beach and car park.

Our beach cleans usually focus on the beach…

However, the car park at Cambois also needs special attention. There’s always a lot of litter here, and we picked up as much as we could around the cars. Unfortunately, the volunteers also spotted a fridge freezer and other items that had been fly tipped into the long grass. It seems to be a significant problem in Northumberland as we regularly see fly tipping on country lanes – we’ve even seen people chucking rubbish in layby hedgerows in bold daylight. We’ll continue to report fly tipping to the council, and encourage you to do the same.

Remember, you don’t need to wait for an organised event to do your bit for the ocean. Why not take part in a #2MinuteBeachClean? All you need to do is spend a couple of minutes from your beach visit to pick up some trash, snap a picture, dispose of the trash responsibly and then use the hashtag to share your findings. You can find out more about the 2 Minute Beach Clean here.

If you’re interested in getting involved in our events, then check out our environmental page and also keep up to date with regular posts on our Facebook page. We’ll be taking our clean ups underwater next year – perhaps you or someone you know would like to take the plunge and get qualified so they can join us. The best way to start the adventure is a Try Dive. It also make a fantastic Christmas present!